Danish Numbers: Out-Frenching the French

If you think French’s “four-twenties-and-thirteen” is a confusing way of saying “ninety-three,” just wait until you see Danish’s terrifying “three-and-fifth-½-times-twenty.”

One of my favorite hobbies is complaining about the French system of counting. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again. I think perhaps it’s because French numbers are a perfect representation of what my personal experience with French culture is all about: form over function. Quatrevingt-treize is a beautiful, melodious number that rolls off the back of the tongue and delights the ear. It also makes no sense. “Four twenties and thirteen?” Seriously? What’s wrong with “ninety-three”? Yes, the Swiss and the Belgians have it figured out – they say nonante-trois. But when’s the last time you heard anyone wax poetic about Belgian culture?

Just kidding. But seriously, thanks to knowledgable internet commenters, I’ve learned that although one of the more well-known, French is far from the most baffling numerical system.

That award has to go to Danish.

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